General RV Review

[Brewhedd]

Hi again everyone. Thought this review would be of help. I'm not saying General RV is any worse than other dealers out there, just not any better. I purchased my TT at General RV. Salesman tells me if I need anything to let him know. After a week I leave him a message that I need a completed work order for their install of a second AC unit. Never heard back from him. When I had the second AC installed, didn't hook it up to the common ductwork, luckily I caught it. Brought it back the first time for warranty work and had two braces for the skirting that were not attached. Asked them to check the others which they didn't do and sure enough there was another one unattached. Bedroom door jamb and trim cracked so they replaced it. They didn't bother to correct how it was hung, door didn't close properly at all. When I asked about it, service writer told me "We have to install it the way GD tells us". LOL, really? GD tells you how to install a door jamb? OK, losing count of trips here but after a few more I switched locations to their Ocala store. Had to have 4 blinds replaced and waited a long time for them to arrive. Brought TT in and they tell me they can't find a couple of the blinds. What? I don't think these people even know what they have in and what they don't. Their parts area looks like they just bring the boxes in and put them anywhere, no organization. Next was the top piece of slide carpet which was crooked by 1 1/2". So, they replace the carpet. Now, just as an FYI, when you walk into the place there's a poster in your face about service work. Typical BS about how they are going to take care of you and how the service manager is going to check the repairs. LOL, yeah right. Back to the carpet- I walk into the trailer after the carpet was replaced and find the transformers for the recliners sitting in the seats. That's the first problem, who do they think is going to plug these back in? Next was when they reinstalled the dinette, one of the booths was put in crooked and the table top wouldn't fit to make a berth. Finally. the recliners were reinstalled too close to the wall and wouldn't open fully. Pretty scary when you think these are the same idiots that might be working on your gas or electric.
Anyway, seems like this is the norm these days, lay out the BS and never worry about actually fulfilling your claims.

[BigSwick]

I would imagine that like auto repair, the people in service work by the book. So the sooner they get done, the more they make. Just like when they are built. Not enough quality control or oversight.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Kind of why I do my own warranty work. If something needs adjusted etc...I do it.
If the furnace (or other appliance)doesn't work...I troubleshoot it. I fix it. Unless it needs a pricey part or replacement. Then I bring it in.
I don't think the majority of RV repair people in a dealership are anything but normal people with no training trying to do what they are told.
Not saying they are bad people, they are just set up to fail IMO.

It is annoying considering you paid $25k...$40k...$80k for one of these units, that the after sales service/repair often is a little lacking.

[Brewhedd]

Kind of why I do my own warranty work. If something needs adjusted etc...I do it.
If the furnace (or other appliance)doesn't work...I troubleshoot it. I fix it. Unless it needs a pricey part or replacement. Then I bring it in.
I don't think the majority of RV repair people in a dealership are anything but normal people with no training trying to do what they are told.
Not saying they are bad people, they are just set up to fail IMO.

It is annoying considering you paid $25k...$40k...$80k for one of these units, that the after sales service/repair often is a little lacking.

Normal people I guess are better than abnormal people. The fact that they are not trained falls on the dealership management which really boils down to the maximization of the bottom line. Substandard work has become acceptable in many industries because of cost of training and pay. Although I don't know how training is going to help people not being able to figure out when installing a booth the table top of the dinette has to fit in the recess areas at the bottom to make a berth.

That's one thing I absolutely refused to do is warranty work, nope, not after spending 45,000 for a TT. You can do what you want and I really don't mean anything personal. The fact that people are willing to do their own warranty work because the dealer wants to drag their feet or are just plain incompetent says a lot about the Industry. It just amazes me that this B.S. way of doing warranty work is somehow acceptable. Would anyone accept this from a new car dealer? No way.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Normal people I guess is better than abnormal people. The fact that they are not trained falls on the dealership management which really boils down to the maximization of the bottom line. Substandard work has become acceptable in many industries because of cost of training and pay. Although I don't know how training is going to help people not being able to figure out when installing a booth the table top of the dinette has to fit in the recess areas at the bottom to make a berth.

That's one thing I absolutely refused to do is warranty work, nope, not after spending 45,000 for a TT. You can do what you want and I really don't mean anything personal. The fact that people are willing to do their own warranty work because the dealer wants to drag their feet or are just plain incompetent says a lot about the Industry. It just amazes me that this B.S. way of doing warranty work is somehow acceptable. Would anyone accept this from a new car dealer? No way.

Can't fault anything you say there.

[WhittleBurner]

It would be helpful for people to know which location you started at before moving to the Ocala location. Which location in any chain can make a world of difference as well as your service writer.

We also purchased from General. Our location is in Mt Clemens, MI and we had great service along with a very good service advisor. (she is now the manager of service) They rarely had our trailer for more than a few days to a week but most of our warranty items were not that drastic and very few. Maybe 5 items. Maybe this is the difference between 2014 and 2019 production??

We had gone to FL to visit family while General had our trailer in for service, they completed the job in the usual fast time frame and we still were not in MI. The snow started, we returned after a month and it kept snowing, it was so deep we couldn't get the trailer in the drive and they stored our trailer for us free for 2 months until there was a thaw.

[Wicked ace]

It would be helpful for people to know which location you started at before moving to the Ocala location. Which location in any chain can make a world of difference as well as your service writer.

We also purchased from General. Our location is in Mt Clemens, MI and we had great service along with a very good service advisor. (she is now the manager of service) They rarely had our trailer for more than a few days to a week but most of our warranty items were not that drastic and very few. Maybe 5 items. Maybe this is the difference between 2014 and 2019 production??

We had gone to FL to visit family while General had our trailer in for service, they completed the job in the usual fast time frame and we still were not in MI. The snow started, we returned after a month and it kept snowing, it was so deep we couldn't get the trailer in the drive and they stored our trailer for us free for 2 months until there was a thaw.

Reading the OP's starter it appears he switched due to proximity and work quality issues which were not resolved by going to the Ocala location. Since there are three locations in Florida you could take your pick. Also realize the age of your unit is like three generations ago and much has changed. Another thing I have observed is the high turn-over rate in this industry. It seems anyone with any skill or savvy is quick to move on which doesn't make for a stable business model.

[Brewhedd]

[COLOR=#b22222]It would be helpful for people to know which location you started at before moving to the Ocala location.

Jacksonville, where it was purchased.

[WhittleBurner]

Reading the OP's starter it appears he switched due to proximity and work quality issues which were not resolved by going to the Ocala location. Since there are three locations in Florida you could take your pick. Also realize the age of your unit is like three generations ago and much has changed. Another thing I have observed is the high turn-over rate in this industry. It seems anyone with any skill or savvy is quick to move on which doesn't make for a stable business model.

I wasn't asking why he switched that is explained in the post, just where the first location was. The reason why was not in the question.

I don't think my trailers age has anything to do with a dealer review, for that matter the make either. It is how the dealer and service after the sale that matter. Early GDs had just as much chance of being full of issues as todays and if you read early forum posts you would learn there have been some early models with pretty big issues.

[Wicked ace]

I wasn't asking why he switched that is explained in the post, just where the first location was. The reason why was not in the question.

I don't think my trailers age has anything to do with a dealer review, for that matter the make either. It is how the dealer and service after the sale that matter. Early GDs had just as much chance of being full of issues as todays and if you read early forum posts you would learn there have been some early models with pretty big issues.

Whatever
Oh yea if you read early forum posts like about two years ago when I registered, you would see that never was heard a disparaging word because first the wagons would circle then it would be shut down. Grand Design didn't want anyone not saying only nice things about their RVs.